Xino

When you doubt the path trod thus far, when the hand you held is lost to you, gaze anew at the heart that once was...for all the answers are within.
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Xino (Nathaniel Jackson)
Role	Protagonist
Origin	A 16 year old boy who was killed during a fatal car accident outside of his high school
Home World	Destiny Islands (formerly Earth)
Other Residences	Scala ad Caelum, The World That Never Was

"Everything Xehanort would have done, all of the pain and heartache he would inflict on the worlds, all of that's gone now. With a single breath, I eradicated everything Xehanort would have ever done. Because...I'm not Xehanort."
―Xino

Journal Entries

Children of Oleander

A keyblade wielder from another dimension, this alternate Xehanort is more than meets the eye.

Story

Children of Oleander

Sometimes, one decision is all it takes for life to decide to throw the impossible at you. And sometimes, foreknowledge isn't exactly how things go.

That's what happens when you accidentally dump your stupid butt into an alternate dimension, and that's AFTER having crossed realities already.

Personality

Xino is a cautious person not by nature, but by environment, riddled with anxiety due to having enemies he knows will kill him and his loved ones without a thought, yet he has no idea who they are or what they look like. For the longest time, the only two people he trusted were Eraqus and Yen Sid, as not only were they both guaranteed to not be Luxu, Xino had actually told Eraqus everything he knew about the Kingdom Hearts timeline, passing it off as something he'd seen in the darkness between his death and rebirth. It wasn't until much later on in his story that he grew to trust his classmates and master as well.

Xino is an incredibly loyal friend to those who have earned his trust, and will move heaven and earth for them. However, trust is a fragile thing, and if broken, it's nearly impossible to repair. Xino has massive trust issues for a reason, and his nightmares are full of both his knowledge and his fears of being discovered. They're so bad, in fact, that Xino routinely screams himself awake at least once a week. Those nightmares and anxities, however, had gotten better in the weeks leading up to Children of Oleander, as he and Eraqus succeeded in putting the Puppetmaster (their name for the Master of Masters) six feet under. All they had to worry about then was Xigbar - at least, until Xino got stuck in another dimension. A dimension where not only was the Puppetmaster still very much alive, but he was trapped in close quarters with XIGBAR. That's when the nightmares naturally came back in full force.

Appearance

Children of Oleander

Xino is sixteen years old and quite literally the Youth in Black, and he hasn't done anything to change that appearance. Given how recent the release of the character was from his perspective back on Earth, it was barely attached to Xehanort in his mind, unlike his other incarnations. There's one thing for certain: there is no way he'll be taking on Young Xehanort's hairstyle as he grows older. Not a chance. The point is, after all, to NOT look like the man he isn't.

Abilities

Keyblade Wielding

Xino is one of the ones chosen by the keyblade, and wields the unique keyblade Cosmic Soul. While he has no idea what keyblade Xehanort had before No Name, he knows for sure it wasn't Cosmic Soul - keyblades are unique to every bearer, and can even change, given the fact that Ven has Missing Ache for whatever reason in Union Cross and yet wields Wayward Wind in Birth By Sleep. Even the fact that he'd reincarnated as Xehanort didn't guarantee that the keyblade would choose him; as its not the body or heart it judges, but the person themselves.

Others

Like his master, Xino doesn't really have a favorite branch of magic, instead using whatever fits his situation. If he was said to have a favorite, though, it would be healing magic. He doesn't like seeing people hurt, and seeing wounds close up and disappear as though they never existed never ceases to be a miracle for him. Aside from magic, Xino has the ability to take on the form of a church grim at will, technically dying in the process. The reason is because of dualities; light and dark, life and death. His normal or 'light' form is him come to life again, and so his dark form takes on the aspect of his death. As for why its a church grim, well. Church grims will face down any enemy in defense of the graveyards they protect, including the devil himself. And what is the Master of Masters to Xino but the devil of Kingdom Hearts?

Relationships

Key

"Insert Quote"

While Key is the reason why he's stuck in her dimension, Xino doesn't blame her for it at all, as technically he's also the one at fault for opening the box that started this whole mess in the first place. Given that she's the only one who genuinely cares about his well-being, she's the person he's chosen to put his trust in here. But with her loyalties caught between Xino and the Organization, only time will tell if she continues to uphold that trust.

Xemnas

"Insert Quote"

Xemnas is under the impression that he's dealing with an alternate version of his younger self, which couldn't possibly be farther from the truth. Xino's even written that fact into his name, for those in the know: his name is literally Xehanort In Name Only. Being trapped in the World That Never Was under the man's dubious hospitality, Xino regards every one of their interactions with caution and fear. Because at this point, Xemnas quite literally could care less about anything, even losing members of his Organization to Sora over time. To him, its no more tragic than squashing a moth. And that kind of apathy understandably unnerves Xino.

Xigbar

"Insert Quote"

Xino is absolutely TERRIFIED of Xigbar, and for good reason: this is the man who sat back and watched an army of children slaughter each other without even batting an eye, and the man who's been hopping from body to body since then, carrying out the role the Puppetmaster gave him. Xino knows from canon that his sights are set on him for his promised scapegoat to herald the return of his master and fellow Foretellers both in his dimension and this new one he's found himself in, and refuses to simply play along by the script, not when that's the very same script he wants to burn in the first place. And above all, he's chillingly aware of the fact that if Xigbar knew even a tenth of what Xino did, he'd kill him on the spot. Him and anyone else he could've told.

Xaldin

"Insert Quote"

Xino and Xaldin have a very antagonistic relationship, with Xaldin constantly scorning and needling Xino - as well as everyone else. He's an incredibly mean and ruthless man and Xino doesn't let that behavior slide when aimed at either him or people he cares about. Xaldin is also the one most annoyed by his nightmares, and absolutely despises them and the noise they inevitably create.

Saix

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Saix is the unfortunate Nobody who got saddled with keeping an eye on Xino, and as such is the one he sees and interacts with the most often. The two have come to a sort of unspoken relationship: Xino leaves Saix alone while he works on his paperwork and various other duties, and Saix leaves Xino alone while he does his level best to litter his room and Saix's office with origami. He's unaware of what a senbazuru is, or the fact that Xino is gunning for a thousand paper cranes specifically, but that doesn't mean Xino hasn't stress-folded other kinds of origami as well.

Demyx

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Demyx is another Nobody Xino hasn't interacted much with, and in fact has seen around the least. Given Demyx's tendency for slacking off and avoiding work, Xino isn't really surprised. They see each other at breakfast and when Xino is locked in for the night, and that's about it.

Luxord

"Insert Quote"

Xino hasn't had the chance to interact much with Luxord yet, though by no means assumes him to be any less dangerous than the rest of the Nobodies of the Organization, and in fact considers him one of the bigger threats, on par with Saix. The implications of Luxord's attribute alone are worrying enough already, given that he can actually enforce a time limit in battle. Xino both does and doesn't want to know what else he can do with it, and would rather not be hit by any nasty surprises from that area. The man is known for holding his cards close to his chest; in that way, the pair are very much alike.

Roxas

"Insert Quote"

While Xino would love to be friends with Roxas - because who wouldn't, in his situation - he regards the other teenager as too innocent to trust, and for good reason. Roxas is unwaveringly loyal to the Organization at the moment, as that's all he knows, and he wouldn't even think twice about spilling anything Xino told him to any of the others - or at least, Axel and Xemnas. And that is something Xino cannot afford. Trust is a two-way street, and to Xino, there can't be friendship if one side doesn't trust the other. And so they can't be friends.

Media

Development

Originally, this story was a roleplay between myself and Thylasupial, and quickly evolved into so much more than that, becoming Key's AU in its entirety while making up an AU of Xino's canon story. And as a roleplay is easily the barebones of a story in and of itself, it doesn't take much to fully flesh it out into one.

Appearances in Other Universes

In Xino's canon, there are two stories: Grim Path and the Art of Teaching Brats. The Art of Teaching Brats is the story of Xino's apprenticeship seen through the eyes of Ignotus, while Grim Path takes place during Dark Road. Unfortunately, they have yet to be published due to Dark Road's infuriating incompleteness, though thankfully that will change soon.

Trivia

• Xino's name is actually an acronym, standing for Xehanort In Name Only.
• Nathaniel and his older sister Jocelyn are half Chinese on their father's side.
• Xino's keyblade armor is inspired heavily by the Azure Dragon in Chinese folklore in its colors and design.
• Jocelyn is a flower enthusiast, and her knowledge of the language of flowers inevitably rubbed off on Nathaniel. Her favorite flower is a white magnolia, while his is a yellow and purple pansy.
• Nathaniel learned sign language so that he would be easily able to communicate with his best friend, Travis.
• Nathaniel's birthday is on September 23rd, 2004, making his star sign Libra and his zodiac the Monkey.
• Nathaniel died on January 17th, 2020.
• Given that he died after the final trailer for Re:Mind came out but before the DLC itself was released, Xino has no idea that Ven isn't supposed to be a Union Leader, that Ignotus isn't supposed to be his master, or that Dark Road is even a thing at all. If he'd had the chance to see the khux finale, and seen the entire scope of the Master of Master's plan, well. He'd hate him even more than he does now.
• Hidden Dragon was actually one of the keyblades I considered having Xino wield, before I eventually ended up designing his own.
• Ironically, it ended up being that both Xehanort and Xino dream of Union Cross. Xino was already having nightmares about his knowledge in his story before the reveal was made, and that just made it that much funnier that in both canon and non-cannon, "Xehanort" still dreams of the Age of Fairy Tales.